


A Merry Little Christmas Mishap

by RushingHeadlong



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Early Queen (Band), Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22256140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RushingHeadlong/pseuds/RushingHeadlong
Summary: Written for the prompt: Freddie is left to man the Kensington stall on his own. Rog misses his train or sth due to the overcrowded tube during the holidays, but Freddie's bursting for a pee, so he leaves the stall for mere minutes, but forgets to lock away the money box. When he gets back he finds all of that week's earnings stolen. When Rog arrives they have a huge fight – it's xmas eve and that money was gonna buy their dinner. Can they still somehow save friendmas?
Relationships: Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	A Merry Little Christmas Mishap

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr at @rushingheadlong.

“How many times have I told you, Fred? Lock up the money box! Even if you’re only gone for a minute, _you lock up the damn money box_!”

“I said I was sorry, didn’t I? What more do you want from me?” Freddie asks, but it’s lacking the heat usually found in his arguments with Roger. He fucked up, _badly_ , and Roger is rightfully pissed at him. 

“I _want_ the twenty quid that we had earned this week!” Roger yells. “That was gonna buy our dinner tonight!”

Not just dinner, but their alcohol to get through the Christmas holiday tomorrow as well. Neither of them were going home to their families and Freddie had been looking forward to spending the day with Roger, just the two of them in their tiny flat… but now, with the understandably murderous look on his friend’s face, Freddie finds himself half-wondering if it’s too late to go to his parents’ house after all. 

“There’s still some time left in the day, we can make the money back,” Freddie tries, but Roger openly scoffs at the suggestion. 

“How? There’s hardly anyone left shopping at this hour,” Roger points out, voice dripping with anger and frustration. 

“Then I’ll just go drum up some business for us, dear,” Freddie says, reaching for his coat. 

Normally Roger would laugh and tell Freddie to, “Sit down, there’s no point in going out and freezing for a couple of pounds!” Today, though, he just gives Freddie a stare colder than London in December and says, “Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.”

Roger is right - there’s no one left shopping for last-minute gifts. The few people on the streets are hurrying home or off to celebrations, not a single one interested in buying second-hand clothes of questionable quality and origin. 

“Merry _fucking_ Christmas indeed,” Freddie mutters, as the fifth woman hurries past him without a single regard for what he’s trying to sell her. 

Night is quickly falling as Freddie wanders further from the market, searching for anyone he might lure back to the stall. Even if they just sell one thing it would be enough to get them a mediocre dinner. He’s not looking forward to going without alcohol, but maybe Roger’s anger will be soothed if they can at least eat. 

_Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ Freddie thinks, and it’s only directed at himself. _How hard is it to remember to lock up the money box? A child could probably remember to do it…_

Freddie stubs his toe on the curb, tries to regain his balance but steps onto a patch of ice and instead falls down, landing hard on the slushy sidewalk. He groans and sits up, but he’s now wet in addition to being cold and he can’t muster the energy to stand again. What’s the point, anyway, when he lost an entire week’s worth of earnings and Roger probably will never speak to him again and-

Someone tosses a few coins at him as they hurry past. Freddie’s chest goes hot with anger and humiliation, and he has half a mind to throw it back at their retreating back… but then he stops and considers things. 

Begging might be the most humiliating thing he’s ever done, but supposedly people feel more charitable around the holidays… and god knows he doesn’t have any other options if he doesn’t want to spend Christmas starving. 

So he swallows his pride, takes off his hat, and sets it in front of him with the stranger’s coins in it.

————————————-

“Freddie! _Freddie! FREDDIE!_ ”

It takes a moment for Freddie to recognize Roger’s voice calling out for him. He feels frozen to the spot but he starts to move, just as Roger almost races past him. 

Roger does a double-take, only recognizing Freddie on the second glance. “Freddie?” he asks, kneeling down next to his friend. “What the hell are you doing? I’ve been worried sick about you, mate! You’ve been gone for hours!”

“Sorry. I got us some money,” Freddie mumbles, nudging his hat with one foot. 

Roger looks down at the soaking-wet hat that has a sizeable pile of money in it. “Were you- Fred, have you been out here _begging_?” 

“It’s my fault we lost the earnings from the stall, and I didn’t want you to stay mad at me,” Freddie says. He’s cold and he’s tired and he doesn’t quite have a verbal filter anymore - and he’s completely taken aback when Roger pulls him into a tight hug. 

“You fucking _idiot_ ,” Roger says. It takes Freddie a second to realize that Roger sounds _fond_ , and the anger he had been expecting is nowhere to be found. “I was mad, yeah, but I didn’t want you to humiliate yourself and freeze to death like this!”

Freddie relaxes into the hug, relieved beyond words that Roger isn’t still angry at him. “I’m still sorry, darling,” he apologizes again. “We can buy food now, though. So it was worth it for that.”

“Well, I _am_ looking forward to eating.” Roger pulls back and starts rifling through the money in the hat and Freddie watches as his eyes go wide, and he quickly counts the money for a second time. “Fred,” Roger says, his words tinted with laughter. “Fred, you have almost _thirty pounds_ here. You made more than we lost in the first place!”

“Really?”

Roger nods and stands back up, and grabs Freddie’s hand to help him to his feet. “We are going to feast like kings tonight!”

“And _drink_ like kings, I hope,” Freddie adds. Now that they have money again and Roger is no longer angry, Freddie’s spirits are quickly starting to rise again. 

“Oh, absolutely!” Roger agrees with a laugh. “This is going to be a _very_ merry Christmas indeed!” 

He slings an arm easily around Freddie’s shoulders as they start walking and Freddie leans into his touch. He’ll never tell Roger, but he’ll take their salvaged friendship over any amount of food or alcohol in the world. 


End file.
